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B’s Five Layer Hidden Focaccia

February 9, 2008 - 11:36am

bakerb

B’s Five Layer Hidden Focaccia

OK! OK! OK...I had this idea to use pesto, olives, & cheeses, you know, yum Italian flavored stuff, in a bread loaf, and I thought I'd just use the rolled-out, then rolled-up technique, but then I thought of trying this:

B’s Five Layer Hidden Focaccia½ the dough of Floyd’s Italian Bread…nice wet flippy dough…1 jar Organic Bella Terra Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, 3 oz.7 pimento stuffed green olives, sliced¼ t. fennel seeds, toasted & slightly crushed4 hunks sun-dried tomatoes, chopped2.2 oz. freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano1 oz. fresh mozzarella piecesDivide dough into 3 pieces, 2 large & 1 small…Stretch or pull one of the large pieces to about 10 - 11 inches in diameter …place on peel on cornmeal sprinkled parchment…spread ½ of the pesto, ½ of the olives, ½ of the fennel seeds, ½ of the tomatoes, & ½ of the cheeses onto the dough within ½ inch of the edge…Begin to preheat the oven, stone, & water pan to 550 degrees, convection…Stretch or pull the small piece of dough to just barely cover the toppings…spread on the rest of the toppings, in the same order as above, to the edge of the second dough…Stretch or pull the last large piece of dough the same size as the original…mist the bare edge of the original dough with water…place the last piece of dough on & press & seal the edges…check for large air pockets between the top dough & the toppings underneath & poke a hole to release the air…My prebaked loaf was about 1 inch high x 12 inches diameter…it sat for about 15 minutes while the oven finished heating…Thoroughly mist the loaf with water…slide the parchment & loaf onto the stone, pour 1 c. hot water into water pan & mist the loaf again…mist 4 more times, 30 sec. apart…lower temperature to 450 degrees, convection (lower temperature 25 degrees if no convection)…bake 22 minutes, rotating once…207 degrees internal temp…

My baked loaf ended-up measuring 2 inches high x 11 inches in diameter… I did not slash it, it didn’t split as it baked and only leaked slightly on the top in 2 places…the crust was dark, doughloafloafcrumbcrumbcrumbcrumb layersthin and crispy, the crumb was airy & moist and the” toppings” were oh so flavorful…I guess, if anything, I would add more olives & cheese...

Does anyone know why my recipe format changed?...it was normal with the ingredients listed with instructions below...then when I clicked submit, it changed to this difficult to read paragraph format...

Beth, that looks so delicious! I would love to make it and wonder why I couldn't bake it on the stone covered with the ss mixing bowl to save the hot water and spritzing? My bowl is big enough, I think. Congratulations on making it "out of your own head" as my late m-i-l used to say, and thank you for sharing, A.

This really is not a difficult recipe, but I think the above format makes it seem so, here's the way it should look:

B's Five Layer Hidden Focaccia½ the dough of Floyd’s Italian Bread…nice wet flippy dough…1 jar Organic Bella Terra Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, 3 oz.7 pimento stuffed green olives, sliced¼ t. fennel seeds, toasted & slightly crushed4 hunks sun-dried tomatoes, chopped2.2 oz. freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano1 oz. fresh mozzarella piecesDivide dough into 3 pieces, 2 large & 1 small…Stretch or pull one of the large pieces to about 10 - 11 inches in diameter …place on peel on cornmeal sprinkled parchment…spread ½ of the pesto, ½ of the olives, ½ of the fennel seeds, ½ of the tomatoes, & ½ of the cheeses onto the dough within ½ inch of the edge…Begin to preheat the oven, stone, & water pan to 550 degrees, convection…Stretch or pull the small piece of dough to just barely cover the toppings…spread on the rest of the toppings, in the same order as above, to the edge of the second dough…Stretch or pull the last large piece of dough the same size as the original…mist the bare edge of the original dough with water…place the last piece of dough on & press & seal the edges…check for large air pockets between the top dough & the toppings underneath & poke a hole to release the air…My prebaked loaf was about 1 inch high x 12 inches diameter…it sat for about 15 minutes while the oven finished heating…Thoroughly mist the loaf with water…slide the parchment & loaf onto the stone, pour 1 c. hot water into water pan & mist the loaf again…mist 4 more times, 30 sec. apart…lower temperature to 450 degrees, convection (lower temperature 25 degrees if no convection)…bake to 22 minutes, rotating once…207 degrees internal temp…My baked loaf ended-up measuring 2 inches high x 11 inches in diameter… I did not slash it, it didn’t split as it baked and only leaked slightly on the top in 2 places…the crust was thin and crispy, the crumb was airy & moist and the” toppings” were oh so flavorful…

Then make sure you are in the tiny print (sometimes it's doubled, make sure you edit the bottom one). put your curser where you want it to start separating and click on the three dot symbol in the tool bar on the comment page. Now everytime you move the cursor and press the shift button, it should list producing a dot.

When everything is the way you want it press preview comment (make sure you correct in the lower version if it splits) Then press the Post comment box. It should happen.

You can try it in the recipe box first and then erase it and repeat in the head box with photos.

Your stuffed focccia inspired me, though I did only 3 layers. Used the overnight Pizza dough with Poolish from Ken Forkish with about half 00 flour (thought there was more in the freezer). A lovely, bubbly dough and easy to work with. Did roasted garlic cloves and oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes in the first layer, small chunks of cheese in the second. Amazingly the dough stretched and nicely sealed the top. Seasoned olive oil and Tuscan Salt Blend from the bulk spices at Whole Foods for the top.

The first bake I had time to take it out of the pan to cool on a rack for a few minutes, then put it back and we just cut it in the pan at the table. Minimal stuffing fell out. Rave reviews, especially from my 8-year-old great-niece visiting CA/seeing an ocean for the first time. She was fascinated by the working yeast, and artistically placed all the stuffing pieces.

The second bake was a 12 x 17 pan for a BBQ next door. There would be limited working space, so I planned to cut and place pieces in a basket here rather than hauling a large board, pizza wheel, hot pan, etc. down my hill and up theirs. I couldn't cool it as long as previously, so when I cut wide strips and then pieces at least 50% of the goodies inside fell out and I stuffed them back in. The basket emptied quickly, and the corner I tested had great chewy texture and flavor.

Do you have the problem of yummy bits falling out due to the many layers, or is it an issue of cooling the bread more before cutting?

Hello, MontBayBaker ...my filling didn't seem to move at all, it looks like it adhered to the dough...I remember my dough being extremely wet, maybe that was a factor. I'm so glad you tried this recipe after so many years...thanks for letting me know!

Thanks bakerb! Recipe said 75% hydration, but I'm new to focaccia and learning thanks to everyone here. Will try again. My husband is always happy to consume bread experiments. The next day I used the leftover dough for a small single-layer focaccia, and put the same "filling" bits under the dough (on lightly oiled parchmentl). Didn't want the SD tomatoes and roasted garlic on top, turning hard or burnt while the dough baked. Being under the dough they stuck well, but the bottom of the tomatoes got a bit tough (likely from the heavy sheet pan on the hot baking stone. When my tomatoes ripen in a few weeks I'll be making lots of pizza and focaccia.

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